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Who is liable to pay Council Tax

The liable person is the person who must pay the Council Tax bill. Liability for Council Tax is prescribed by Sections 4 & 6 of The Local Government Finance Act 1992. There is an order that is followed when determining who will be the liable person. It is the person at the top of the list, who comes first, then the next and so on:

A resident with a freehold interest in all or part of the dwelling

A resident with a leasehold interest in all or part of the dwelling

A resident who is a statutory or secure tenant. A resident who is a licensee

A resident who does not fall into the above 4 categories

The owner

A ‘resident’ is a person who has reached the age of 18 years of age and has their sole or main residence in the dwelling. Lots of people have only one home and this is therefore their sole residence. Some people own more than one property, but they will live in one particular dwelling, which is their main residence (their home).

Sometimes, more than one person is responsible for paying the Council Tax, for example when two or more people live in the property and jointly own or rent it.

Joint responsibility also applies to a husband, wife or partner of the person who has to pay the bill providing that they all live in the same property, even if they are not joint owners, tenants or leaseholders.

Sometimes landlords have to pay the Council Tax even if tenants occupy the property, for example if the tenants are under the age of 18 or if the house is deemed to be a ‘house of multi-occupation’.

There is only one bill for the property, which will be addressed to one of the people responsible, or all of them if the names are known. Bills cannot be split between joint taxpayers, so for example, if three people live in the property, there will only be one bill, not three.

The amount of Council Tax that the liable person has to pay is calculated on a daily basis. When we calculate how much tax a person has to pay and it is assumed that the situation at the end of the day existed throughout the day. So the day that you become liable for a property is the day that the charge starts.

Council Tax and Care Leavers

Are you a care leaver aged under 25 and liable to pay Council Tax? Did you know that Lancashire County Council (LCC) may be able to pay this for you?

From 1 April 2017, a young care leaver, up to the age of 25, may be entitled to a grant from LCC to pay Council Tax. This could apply even if you are jointly liable with someone else who is not a care leaver.

If you are in a "Staying Put" arrangement, you would not be eligible for the scheme as this is the responsibility of your previous foster carer.

Any Council Tax you were liable for before 1 April 2017 is not included and you remain liable for paying this yourself.

If you think you should be entitled to any Council Tax discounts or exemptions or Council Tax Support, you should apply for these seperately and LCC will then pay the remaining balance directly to us.

To apply for the grant, you need to complete a form with your Care Helper from LCC and they will send this through to us and confirm that you are eligible for the grant. We will then send your Council Tax bills straight to LCC who will pay them for you.

If you have any changes to your circumstances, you need to let LCC know as this could affect the grant. In addition, if you have any Council Tax discounts or exemptions or Council Tax Support, you would need to tell us about the changes as well.

Please speak to your Care Helper at LCC for further advice and information.